I flew on
Mesa Air's "Go!" airline between Hilo and Honolulu today. Go! has cultivated a reputation of being the state's "cutthroat discount" airline, offering fares as low as $19 one-way between major island destinations. I was lucky enough to secure 4 $19 tickets this holiday season on Go!, Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines. I used 2 of the tickets this week on Aloha and Go.
Flying on Go! is pleasant like any other jet airline serving interisland destinations. Go's
Bombardier CRJ 200 regional jets are smaller than Hawaiian's Boeing 717 and Aloha Air's Boeing 737-200. The CRJ 200 carries 50 passengers. The plane was about 80% filled. There was an empty seat next to me in row 11R. Seating is "open" meaning first come, first serve. Not much of a scramble as you are not dealing with many passengers on the smaller plane.
Take off from Hilo was smooth, the jet climbed in the usual way and made a hard left shortly after take-off to put it on course for Honolulu. In flight service consists of the one flight attendant walking down the aisle and taking orders for various soft and alcoholic drinks available for purchase on their menu. No complimentary fruit punch like Hawaiian or Aloha. I passed on the drinks, which were all served before we reached Maui. The flight is short.
Like the other carriers, Go! has an inflight magazine, a printed drink menu and the required emergency procedures card in the pocket of each seat. The inflight mag was interesting to me as they had some information on the history of Mesa Airlines, flight routes throughout the USA, and a small section on CRJ 200.
While Mesa / Go has been subject of continued criticism from employees of Hawaii's other interisland carriers, almost all of the personnel I saw working for Go! are Hawaii locals. The baggage handlers and ticket counter people were young ladies, some of "manly proportions" hired more than likely to handle the small load of bags that are loaded and unloaded to each plane. The flight attendant was also "local" with the cockpit crew the typical young mainland pilot types. The ground crew in Honolulu were mostly another group of locals. In all Mesa / Go! has added employment opportunities for people in our community where there probably wouldn't be any if they were not here.
Of course what can you say about the ticket prices? Go! has been instrumental in bringing interisland ticket prices down... very low. Since beginning interisland service in June, Go! has offered one-way ticket prices ranging from $19 to $29 to the standard $39, which is a far cry from the "low" $79 prices the incumbent carriers were charging last year. Go! and the other carriers who have been forced to match the low prices are not making money.
It was
reported this week that Mesa Air's 4th quarter earnings "tumbled 68.3 percent due to pilot training expenses and maintenance costs". Go's load factor for interisland travel has leveled off to a less than 60%. Mesa Air management blame the drop on Hawaiian and Aloha adding more interisland capacity.
No matter what the economic picture is for the airlines, consumers will do good to take advantage of the current low prices now before one or more of the interisland carriers go out of business and prices climb again. For now I am enjoying the ride.
More photos of Go's CRJ 200 (click on each image to see a larger version; courtesy of my
BuzzNet site).
These shots were taken shortly after deplaning in Honolulu at the Interisland Commuter Terminal.
Taken in-flight aboard the CRJ 200 regional jet. 2-abreast seating on each side.
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